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2026 Borgata Summer Poker Open
Daily Tournament Highlights
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Poker crushers from all over the East Coast made their way to the Borgata Summer Poker Open for the $650 Super Deep 6-Max. However, the player who captured the two beautiful trophies once the dust settled was local cash game and tournament regular Li Liang.
A total of 401 entries were tallied to generate a prize pool of $228,570, but all eyes were set upon the first-place prize of $41,150. Sixty-five players returned for Day 2, with the final six playing down to a winner on Friday.
It took just over two hours of play for Liang to lock up the title after defeating Giorgi Arveladze heads-up to more than double her prior live tournament earnings, according to The Hendon Mob.
Liang was full of energy from the first shuffle and had the support of the entire Borgata staff on her way to victory. On the most pivotal hand of the day, she made a gusty call on the turn with second pair for her tournament life. It propelled her to the win, and was emblematic of her play the entire tournament.
$650 Super Deep 6-Max Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Li Liang | United States | $41,150 |
| 2 | Giorgi Arveladze | Georgia | $28,575 |
| 3 | Ryan Syrko | United States | $20,000 |
| 4 | Yuriy Kudrynskyy | Ukraine | $13,710 |
| 5 | Bin Weng | United States | $9,140 |
| 6 | Frank Costigan | United States | $7,430 |
For Katie Hopkins, events like the Borgata Summer Poker Open Ladies Championship are about much more than the cards.
Hopkins first discovered poker through Poker Power, an organization that introduces women to the game. After attending an introductory session at her workplace, NASDAQ, she later signed up for an eight-week women's boot camp run in partnership with PokerStars.
That experience led to an online tournament where Hopkins won a trip to EPT Cyprus, a trip she says cemented her love for poker.
"I met a lot of really cool people through that trip," Hopkins said. "I don't know that I'm necessarily the best player, but I've made some really good friends through it."
Those friendships have lasted well beyond the poker table. One of the players she became friends with lives in London and has since visited Hopkins' home in Pennsylvania multiple times. Another joined her at Borgata this week to play the Ladies Championship together.
Hopkins also credited women's events with helping newer players find their feet in a welcoming environment.
"It can be intimidating when you're new to it," she said. "But coming out and playing these events increases your confidence. It's a fun night out too."
After making the final table of a PokerStars Open Ladies event in Philadelphia last year, Hopkins is hoping for another deep run at Borgata. With a newborn at home after welcoming a baby in December, opportunities to play have become less frequent, making this week's event even more special.
The $500 H.O.E. attracted 33 entries, creating a small overlay on its $15,000 guaranteed prize pool.
With registration now closed, 21 players remain in contention, including mixed-game regular Allen Kessler.
The tournament will pay the top five finishers, with the winner set to collect $6,010.
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $6,010 |
| 2 | $3,595 |
| 3 | $2,275 |
| 4 | $1,615 |
| 5 | $1,175 |
Satellite action is continuing alongside Sunday's tournament schedule, with players still chasing their way into some of the biggest events of the Borgata Summer Poker Open.
The $320 Mega Summer Poker Open Championship Qualifier has now reached Level 11 after attracting 93 entries. The satellite has 11 seats that feed into the $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship, with play continuing until the packages are awarded.
The $550 $5K Re-Up Survivor is also underway. The event has drawn 93 entries through the opening six levels and carries a $50,000 guarantee, with players looking to secure one of the $5,000 survivor prizes.
The $500 Almighty Stack is down to just 37 players from a field of 2,209 entries, with the remaining contenders now enjoying a 60-minute dinner break.
Play will resume at approximately 7:45 p.m. local time, with the plan to play down to the final six before bagging for Monday's streamed final table.
Michael Mann heads into the break as the chip leader after building his stack to 14,000,000. He's closely followed by WPT champion Will Failla on 12,500,000, while Greg Himmelbrand rounds out the top three with 11,000,000.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Mann | United States | 14,000,000 |
| 2 | Will Failla | United States | 12,500,000 |
| 3 | Greg Himmelbrand | United States | 11,000,000 |
| 4 | John Malczan | United States | 10,500,000 |
| 5 | Adam Calabrese | United States | 9,300,000 |
| 6 | Toby Gafner | United States | 8,500,000 |
| 7 | Daniel Lazrus | United States | 8,000,000 |
| 8 | Bin Weng | United States | 7,500,000 |
| 9 | David Kilcoyne | United States | 7,500,000 |
| 10 | Yuriy Kudrynskyy | Ukraine | 7,000,000 |
Eric Starker has climbed to the top of the chip counts in the $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship after picking up pocket aces at exactly the right time.
Starker found the rockets in a three-way all-in, eliminating two opponents in one pot from the $1 million guaranteed event to vault to 181,000 chips and move into the overall lead.
The Championship field has now grown to 74 entries, with 50 players still in contention as registration remains open.
Top Five Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eric Starker | United States | 181,000 |
| 2 | John Lytle | United States | 165,000 |
| 3 | Emily Sun | United States | 145,000 |
| 4 | Benjamin Duronio | United States | 140,500 |
| 5 | Colin Moll | United States | 127,000 |
For the best part of three years, it felt like Bin Weng was everywhere.
The Pennsylvania poker crusher had already established himself as one of the most consistent tournament grinders in the country, but from 2023 onwards his career went into overdrive. Millions of dollars in scores, major titles and seemingly endless deep runs followed as Weng became one of the hottest players on the tournament circuit.
The volume never really slowed, either. After banking $6,663,696 in live tournament cashes during a remarkable 2023, he added another $519,146 in 2024 and $945,780 in 2025. Then, towards the end of last year, it all came to a halt.
Health complications forced Weng away from the tables for around seven months, leaving one of poker's busiest tournament regulars watching from home instead of competing.
PokerNews caught up with Weng during the Borgata Summer Poker Open.
Vittorio "Victor" Abbate didn't qualify for the $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship online on BetMGM Poker, and he didn't head to the cage to buy in either.
His seat came courtesy of a charity poker tournament in Manhattan.
"My friend and I have been doing that event every year for the past 20 years," Abbate said. "This year I came in second, and I won a ticket for the main event at Borgata, which is a great event."
The tournament is held in support of the Buoniconti Fund, a non-profit organization that raises money for The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. Co-founded by NFL Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti, the project is dedicated to repairing and restoring function to the injured and diseased nervous system.
The winner of the charity event receives a seat into the WSOP Main Event, while the runner-up earned a package to Borgata's Championship event. Abbate's second-place finish was enough to book his return to Atlantic City.
Poker has been part of Abbate's life for around 20 years, but it's always been something he's enjoyed alongside his career rather than instead of it.
"I've played for a lot of years," he said. "Some good runs and some bad ones. I just love playing poker. It's a great thing to do."
Although he doesn't travel the circuit full time, Borgata has been the site of many of his best results. Abbate has recorded more than $175,000 in live tournament earnings, with many of his biggest scores coming in Atlantic City.
Earlier this year, he made another deep run in the $2,700 Borgata Spring Poker Open Championship, finishing 13th for $15,155, adding to a list that includes a victory in the 2024 Big Chip Bounty and several other strong finishes at the property.
Away from the poker table, Abbate has spent more than four decades in a very different profession.
"I have a retail business," he said. "I've done it for over 40 years now."
That business is Abbate Bakery in Matawan, New Jersey, specializing in Italian breads, pastries and cakes.
"My thing is breads," he said. "I enjoy all the sourdough and all those Italian rye breads. We do all that."
The bakery keeps him busy, but poker remains his escape whenever the opportunity comes around.
"I do have a full-time job," he said. "But this is a lot more fun than doing that."
If you can't make it to Atlantic City, you won't have to miss the biggest moments from the Borgata Summer Poker Open powered by BetMGM Poker.
Throughout the festival, the BetMGM YouTube channel will be live with a packed schedule of final tables, feature-table coverage and cash games, bringing viewers all the action.
The livestream schedule kicks off on July 20 with the final table of the $600 Deep Stack Kick Off, before turning its attention to a mix of cash games and tournament action over the following week. The spotlight then shifts to the $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship, with feature table coverage on Days 2 and 3 before the festival concludes with the final table on July 31.
| Date | Time | Stream |
|---|---|---|
| July 20 | Noon | $600 Deep Stack Kick Off Final Table |
| July 21 | TBA | Pot-Limit Omaha Cash Game |
| July 22 | TBA | RAF's Game |
| July 23 | TBA | Borgata Big Game |
| July 24 | Noon | $650 Super Deep 6-Max Final Table |
| July 25 | TBA | Signature $2/$5 Cash Game |
| July 27 | Noon | $500 Borgata Almighty Stack Final Table |
| July 29 | Noon | $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship Feature Table |
| July 30 | Noon | $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship Feature Table |
| July 31 | Noon | $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship Final Table |
Start times for the cash game streams will be confirmed closer to each broadcast. Players and fans can keep an eye on the Borgata Poker social media channels for the latest updates.
Sunday at the Borgata Summer Poker Open is shaping up to be one of the busiest days of the festival, with four events running simultaneously.
The $500 Almighty Stack, which is already reached the money, has seen its field trimmed to 135 players. Everyone remaining is guaranteed at least $1,325, but all eyes are on the $144,250 top prize. Play is in Level 22 with blinds of 30,000/60,000, and the field will continue to shrink throughout the afternoon before returning on Monday to play down to a winner.
The $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship has begun, with the first of three starting flights already drawing 48 entries during the opening levels. The marquee event of the series carries a $1 million guarantee, with late registration remaining open throughout the day as players take their first shot at reaching Day 2.
Mixed-game specialists are also in action in the $500 H.O.E., where 18 entries have already been recorded in the early stages. The tournament features a $15,000 guarantee.
For players looking to win their way into the Championship, the afternoon's $320 Mega Summer Poker Open Championship Qualifier is up to 78 entries, with 10 Championship seats guaranteed.
